It occurred to me that my thoughts could lead right into a blog our weekend challenge calls for about what is on our mind. Because this has been on my mind a lot lately.

So here is my reply (you may want to read PCOH051610's blog here.) Amazing blog and SO important!! I'd encourage you to not give up on goal setting, but rather to give up on perfectionism. I KNOW what I'm talking about here - I have a definite tendency towards perfectionism myself. But it STOPS us from being our best because it often ends up being an 'all or nothing' kind of thing. It took me a LOT of years (I'm 65) to learn this lesson, and I sometimes backslide, but not often anymore.

My motto now is "Reach for the stars and if you miss you'll land among the stars." This works for me - I set my goals high but don't stress out if I don't quite make them because I figure I've made more progress than if I'd never set goals. I've pretty much given up the habit of beating myself up. I do my best, and if its not good enough, oh well.... Only one perfect Being has ever walked on this earth and He IS NOT me. Reminding myself of that is very freeing.

We joined this weight loss challenge to lose weight and get more healthy and fit. But you know what? Sometimes life happens and our plans go awry and we gain instead of losing. When that happens we have two choices - we can get right back ON our plan or we can say 'This just isn't working for me" and leave the challenge. That leads to another favorite motto of mine - "Never, never, NEVER give up!" That's another quote I've read on SparkPeople - "Its hard to beat someone who never gives up."

I love this! Thanks for the links to the other great blogs and for sharing your insights. I've had a problem with perfectionism all my life and have been working on accepting myself without being perfect. have a great day.

Yes, Susan's blog is very thought provoking. Perfectionism can be a huge drawback in some pursuits. We all need to keep our gaze on the wider picture when life intervenes in negative ways and we go off our path for a while. I think the important thing on this site is to stick with SP through thick and thin, even if someone takes a rest from it it is better than leaving the site altogether.

Marilyn, you speak the truth! "Perfectionism" is quite a problem among those of us trying to lose weight and unfortunately, it keeps us stuck. We have to do our best, say "oh well" when we screw up, and then move on. I'm learning this lesson too, hopefully I'll truly get it this time!

PS - congrats on your Fitbit standing! You're Number One, but since I'm working on my perfectionist tendencies, I'm not going to give up! I'm OK with being number 5 this week!